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You so Handsome. You so Lucky

Alas, another
great adventure comes to a conclusion and the crazy life we’re living in
Singapore returns to normal, quickly, oh so quickly. But that’s what it’s all
about. We work our arses off to get out there and see this magnificent world
every chance we get. It’s the only motivation I’ve ever had for making a
living.

The boys got some custom cowboy boots made in Hoi An. They wore them to breakfast - noice!

While I’ve been to
too many places to count alone, as well as more adventuring with Steve, I have
to say travelling with my mini-loves brings a whole new dimension to the
experience. I love being out there with them. I love how they engage with the
world. I love the simple pleasures they find – like chickens… who knew? Sure
there are definitely times when it’s not a lot of fun, and they can moan – my
word they can moan – but all in all, I’d say my dudes are great travelers.

In Asia, they love
kids, but in many of the developed countries they won’t necessarily openly
engage with kids – especially if we’re around. This was not a problem in Vietnam. Everywhere we
went, the boys were told they were so handsome, and as the mother, I was told I
was so lucky. I was getting a bit annoyed with the lucky-to-have-two-boys-bit
until my friend Sam told me she heard the same thing about having two girls. Maybe
it’s the two thing? Maybe it’s just because they love children? Maybe children are just a sign of good luck and fortune in a country
coming out of a pretty bleak time?

Whatever it is, everywhere
we went, complete strangers were reaching out and touching them. Motorbikes
would stop as we were about to negotiate a road to tell the boys how handsome
they were. A whole school year in Halong Bay insisted on having group photos
with the boys. The teachers insisted on photos with Steve. It was great. I
loved it. But sometimes the boys found it all a bit much. “Mum why are they
staring at me? Tell them to stop.”

We had to wait at a strip club for our train to Hue. One day the boys will understand this sign

Lex is definitely
the more curious of our two lads, so when we caught the night train from Hanoi
to Hue I decided to take him on a walk. We were at the shiny end, with clean
toilets, good aircon and beds, so as we walked further and further down the
train, the standards drop significantly. By the time we got to the comfortable
chairs (we didn’t make it to the wooden slat benches) the arms started reaching
out, touching Lex, wanting to talk to him. He was having none of that, turning
around to leg it back to our cabin for the rest of the ride. That was a good
result. It would’ve been tedious heading up and down the train with him, like
we used to do on planes when they were toddlers.

All up I'd say that Vietnam is
awesome. I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to get there and now I’ve been
twice in a year! It’s definitely a country coming into its own, and the people
are truly magnificent – friendly, open, warm, engaging. However, within the
next five years – based on the construction we saw everywhere – it’ll be a
whole new country. Some of it will be better, some will be a sad loss (its
history is so rich, we can only hope they value it), but you can’t stop
progress, as they say

Where ever it
heads as it develops, I can definitely recommend it to anyone who’s been
thinking about a visit. If you’ve got kids, more so. They’re completely
welcome.

I would suggest,
however, that you check the weather before flying off. We managed to get the
hottest temperatures Vietnam has experienced since records began, and it was
hot, really REALLY hot. Singapore actually feels quite cool today at a balmy 31
degrees celsius.

So now it’s time for
the next adventure to be planned. We’re tossing up Myanmar or Sri Lanka… both
have such appeal! Then again, I think Steve would insist on a beach holiday
next… We’re pretty tired after this trip.

I grew up in country Australia, went to university in Melbourne studying music and ancient history, joined the Australian Army as a musician, entered the world of public relations, and then decided to head off around the world. That was 1995 and I'm still going, having lived in London, Boston, NYC, Thailand and Singapore - with a couple of short trips back to Australia in between. Singapore-based now, with an adorable husband and two rambunctious sons, my professional background is communication strategy and content marketying, with a focus on business and creative writing. My passion is people from all walks of life, and the amazing diversity of this extraordinary planet. I reckon life is pretty great, even though it can be crap sometimes too. I also blog extensively, with three blogs - my personal blog Without the Bollocks where I talk about life, my professional blog SAJE focused on all things communication, and a kids adventure blog for Singapore. Hey what can I say, I need to write!